AICAR first hit the headlines in cycling in 2009, when French authorities found packaging in the Astana team hotel during the Tour de France. Astana’s Alberto Contador went on the win the race, with Lance Armstrong taking third, although the American has since been stripped of that result.

At the time AICAR was not on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) banned list, but was added at the end of 2010.

So go back to LA's assertions that he was "clean" during his comeback. Based on the above, and according to the letter of the law, he would have been.

I wonder is that is why he had to fire the guy who was going to vouch for him being clean. I doubt that guy would have stayed quiet about LA using a still legal but effective PED. And LA's long association w/ Dr. Ferrari? Is there anyone on this planet who would be more aware of a leading edge drug that authorities hadn't caught up with yet?

"In nature there are two versions of carbon; this is the carbon 12 with the mass 12, and the carbon with mass 13 and the mixing ratio reflects exactly what carbon is in the food we we eat,” Thevis explained. “If you produce a synthetic product, then this ratio, this signature of the carbon, is different and that can be distinguished with the help of modern analytical techniques.”

A quote from the DS of the positive rider: "We believe that altered diet our riders have been eating on the rest days skew the carbon 12 and carbon 14 balance in their diet and hence skewed the test results."

Entheo, it doesn't work that way. NASCAR has to become an Olympic sport. When it does, USADA is charged with monitoring the activity in this country. (Probably why NASCAR is staying under the radar as far as the Olympics go.)